GREENSBORO, NC (January 2004) – Piedmont Pharmaceuticals’ subsidiary, Triad Specialty Products, announces that it has received regulatory clearance to market new Serene Feed-Through Fly Control, a non-organophosphate oral fly control for horses that drastically reduces fly populations in and around barns and stables. Piedmont specializes in parasitology and drug delivery technologies.

The product will be welcome news to owners of the more than 5 million horses in the U.S. Expected to revolutionize the equine fly control market due to its exceptional efficacy, Serene Feed-Through Fly Control is effective against both house flies and biting stable flies. The product targets immature flies--the critical gap in fly control programs. In scientific studies, Serene Feed-Through Fly Control inhibited 95 percent of immature stable flies and 100% of house flies from developing into adults, achieving a level of fly control many never thought possible. Formulated as a pelleted top dressing conveniently given with each horse’s feed, it passes directly through the horse and is deposited in the manure where flies lay eggs and breed.

Competitive climate beckoned

There are dozens of fly control products available for use with horses, with no clear market leader. According to Roland Johnson, president of Piedmont Pharmaceuticals, “Some people look at the multitude of fly control products for horses as a red flag to market entry, but we saw it as an indication that no product has clearly demonstrated competitive advantages. We saw it as a golden opportunity.”

The current state-of-the art fly control in upscale horse operations is an automatic overhead sprayer system that sprays a fine mist of insecticide throughout the barn several times a day. However, Serene Feed-Through Fly Control has demonstrated better fly control than the sprayer system. Dr. Leah Starr, an equine veterinarian in Texas describes her experience: “I used Serene Feed-Through Fly Control at my home and have an automatic sprayer system at my clinic, so I was able to compare both methods. I found that I got better fly control with the new feed-through than with my sprayer system, even though we were removing the manure from the stalls at the clinic three times a day. After 4 _ weeks using Serene Feed-Through Fly Control—almost to the day—there were no flies. I estimate that I have 20 percent more flies at the clinic where I use the sprayer system.”

Mike Coffee, president of Triad Specialty Products as well as horse owner and enthusiast says, “I knew we had a winner when I started hearing from the horse owners and veterinarians at our test sites. They tell me they wouldn’t have believed the effectiveness of this product unless they had seen it for themselves. Now they don’t want to be without it.”

A non-organophosphate, non-toxic alternative
Serene Feed-Through Fly Control is non-toxic to horses, other mammals and beneficial insects. The active ingredient is an insect growth regulator that has been used as a feed-through fly control in the poultry industry for more than 20 years.

While other oral fly control products are available, most contain an organophosphate-type pesticide as their active ingredient. The EPA is actively reviewing many existing organophosphate registrations, with an objective of reducing the use of this class of insecticide and has required manufacturers of these products to make label changes alerting owners to toxicity concerns that may result from their use.

Innovative distribution model

Available next month, Serene Feed-Through Fly Control will be offered to horse owners exclusively through equine practitioners, further differentiating it from OTC products. Triad has designed an innovative distribution model in the veterinary channel, which includes shipping directly to horse owners, thus avoiding storage and handling by veterinarians while meeting quick delivery expectations of owners.

Dr. Rick Mitchell, a leading equine practitioner in Connecticut, official veterinarian to the U.S. Olympics Equestrian Team in the 1996 and 2000 Olympics and past board member of the National Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), says, “As equine veterinarians, we have long expressed concern that with all the fly-control products on the market, there is the possibility of haphazard and potentially unsafe fly-control practices in the field. There’s often no coordinated effort and our clients and their horses suffer. Since Serene Feed-Through Fly Control is only available through equine practitioners, we will have the opportunity to give much-needed professional guidance to our clients.”

The company previewed the product at the annual conference of the AAEP in New Orleans last November and received overwhelmingly positive responses from veterinary practitioners. Concerns about the use of organophosphate-type oral products and possible adverse effects of these pesticides in horses were raised at the conference. Veterinarians were keenly interested in an alternative for their clients and Triad’s booth was one of the busiest at the conference.

Launch to horse owners planned following educational campaign for veterinarians
The company will immediately begin educational product support meetings specifically for veterinarians. A direct-to-consumer marketing campaign is planned early this year. Coffee says, “Following our educational roll-out with veterinarians, we plan to invest in significant consumer public relations and advertising efforts.”

Experts in parasitology

Members of Piedmont’s management team are recognized as leaders in the areas of parasitology and drug delivery technology, and are leveraging their expertise to develop innovative products for both humans and animals. Leaders at Piedmont and Triad have a proven track record of developing and marketing highly effective parasite control products. Dr. Kathy Palma, an entomologist and horse owner, and vice-president of research and development at Triad is credited with developing the concept for the product. Most of the same team members responsible for Serene Feed-Through Fly Control were previously with Ciba Animal Health, where they developed and marketed numerous top-selling veterinary products, including a once-a-month flea control pill that revolutionized the small animal category of veterinary medicine. ”We believe Serene Feed-Through Fly Control has the potential to have a similar impact in equine medicine,” says Coffee.

About the company

Piedmont Pharmaceuticals was founded in 2001 and is the third successful start-up for its seasoned management team. Piedmont will establish an industry leadership position in the field of parasitology by developing proprietary drugs for both human and animal use. Piedmont’s innovative product line includes the new patented head lice treatment, currently in phase II clinical trials in Canada, and U.S and European trials will commence early this year. Its novel head lice treatment utilizes a unique non-toxic formulation, without any of the classical insecticides traditionally used in lice treatments, and employs a unique mode of action to which lice are unlikely to develop resistance.

The Company develops and/or gains regulatory approval for its human pharmaceuticals and then out-licenses them to strategically-selected pharmaceutical organizations for domestic and worldwide markets. For more information on the Company and its products, visit www.PiedmontPharma.com. Triad Specialty Products is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Piedmont Pharmaceuticals LLC. The Company is based in Greensboro, N.C. For more information on Triad and its products, visit TriadSpecialty.com. For more information on the Serene Feed-Through Fly Control, visit SereneFlyControl.com or call 800-208-2270.